YPP California Human Resources Blog

How well do you know your people?

2009-04-16T08:52:00.001-07:00

Are you sometimes surprised by how people respond differently to changing business environments? The American workplace is a fluid environment that is constantly changing and this is especially true of the combinations of people that need to work together. Today's managers have to make critical decisions in an ever changing, dynamic and culturally diverse workplace. This requires an in-depth knowledge of each person's strengths and weaknesses and guessing at this exponentially increases the risks to the business.

In most businesses this knowledge is accumulated over a long period of time through an expensive process of trial and error. One challenge with this is that the loss of the manager results in the loss of a tremendous amount of very expensive tribal knowledge. This is even more important when you consider the new hire. In this case the new person coming into the team is largely an unknown. Through the interview process we learned a little bit about them and expanded our knowledge with reference checking and some skill tests but in reality we know next to nothing about the real person. So the manager is faced with the job of fitting an unknown person into a poorly documented existing team. It is no wonder that this does not work sometimes.

While there is no substitution for a personal relationship with another person, you can rapidly gain a better perspective of another person through the use of psychometric assessments. This tool gives the manager a better understanding of the core characteristics of employees and improves their ability to make team decisions that work better. If your objective is to increase employee performance, improve employee communication, provide leadership training and development, reduce turnover, improve employee motivation, increase sales, or hire the right person this tool needs to be in your toolbox.

So what is a Psychometric Assessment? Simply stated it is a profile of the attributes of the person's personality. It helps you understand strengths, weaknesses, and values/perspective that person uses to make decisions. It advances your knowledge of the job match attributes of that person. We all know that different personality types perform at different levels depending on the challenge at hand. For example an entrepreneurial personality is not likely to be happy in a very structured and repetitive work place but they are incredibly valuable in new product development.

The areas measured by these assessments include: Learning Index, Verbal Skill, Verbal Reasoning, Numerical Ability, Numeric Reasoning, Energy Level, Assertiveness, Sociability, Manageability, Attitude, Decisiveness, Accommodating, Independence, and Objective Judgment. Beyond these measurements it also identifies their interests including Enterprising, Financial/Admin, People Service, Technical, Creative, and Mechanical.

As a business grows, eventually it becomes impossible to know everyone at a personal level. People have many facets to them and these assessments can help you discover things that could take years of working with the person. These tests are not perfect and there is no single answer to how to deal the diverse workforce of today but the more you information you have the better your decisions can be. The question you have to ask yourself is do you have the time to use trial and error or should you step up to something more scientific.

Stimulus Package More Than $...HR Changes Too

2009-03-10T11:08:00.000-07:00

There have already been countless laundry lists published of the HR tasks generated by the new economic stimulus package. HR departments everywhere are scrambling to make the nuts and bolts changes needed to comply. Rather than focusing solely on the new tasks generated by the stimulus package it may be the perfect time to step back and look at the bigger HR picture and how your HR professionals can make a more significant contribution to the management team. The economic stimulus package is ultimately about jobs and a more viable economy. With so much on the table and at stake this may be the perfect opportunity for an HR stimulus as well.

The urgency of the current economic situation means we must move the conversation forward and make our HR professionals much more than masters of the HR task list. Your Human Resource professionals need to assume a far more critical role, strategic management partner. When the economy is good and things are humming smoothly it is easy to for companies to let HR to fall into the role of compliance cops or worse, the equivalent of the shovel and the dustpan at the end of the parade. HR has much more to offer and they will never face greater tests or have a better opportunity to demonstrate their skills, resources and capacity to be key members of the management team.

Business owners, managers and employees are all stakeholders in the economic recovery and it is time for all hands on deck. The moment has come to strip away the endless TV commentary and politics surrounding the Stimulus Package to focus on the day to day work we all must engage in. HR has long held that they deserve a seat at the management table and in the current business climate HR professionals will have a golden opportunity take a seat and assume a meaningful leadership role. This means you should expect your HR professionals must to forth innovative ideas on effective human capital deployment and employee engagement which will bolster business survivability and success. In short, they must demonstrate the ability to be less transactional and more transformational. Only then will HR become your strategic management partner.

Jason Corsello recently wrote an interesting piece on the Human Capitalist Blog summarizing some key points made by Tod Loofbourrow, Chairman of Authoria, when he spoke recently at the Strategic e-HR Conference. He was talking about HR executives that "get it" and laid out the first three qualities summarized below. Jason added the fourth point. These thought provoking ideas put forth by Tom Loofbourrow's and Jason Corsello are the perfect jumping off point to begin an HR stimulus conversation.

1. Business acumen. They have a true understanding of their own company, its business, the products and the industry it operates. Too many HR executives don't even know the products their company sells and at what price or margin.

2. Analytical mindset. They think in numbers not emotions. They leverage data to make decisions and measure their business proactively.

3. Accountability. They are willing to make hard, critical decisions independently and will to put their proverbial “ass on the line”. Accountability also means they have a favorable reputation within the organization and can garner support throughout.

4. They know what they don't know. This really means they know the right questions to ask and surround themselves with smart people, experts and knowledge.

And I would like to suggest another point for inclusion on the list:

5. They see HR as a fully vested member of the management team. They have a thorough understanding where HR fits in big picture of the management puzzle and understand why HR is vital to the success of the company.

So how do management and HR make such a dramatic shift and change the dynamic of HR as usual? In the next few months we will examine each of the areas on this list and discuss what owners, managers and HR professionals can do to more fully integrate HR into the management team.

The Untapped Potential of HR

2009-02-23T13:57:00.000-08:00

Another CEO that I respect stated; "There is no doubt of the potential of HR to move my business forward; what is in doubt is the ability of HR to live up to that potential." While this is stinging comment about the HR profession it is a reasonably fair comment. HR rarely lives up to its potential because the potential is almost unlimited. HR is part of the team that hires, retains, and develops the staff that is the next generation of the business. HR is responsible for a wide range of challenges involving the management of the human capital of the business, while being in charge of very little and having extremely limited authority in most businesses. HR's potential impact is nothing less than the future of the business and HR, by design, must negotiate with other managers to accomplish the decisions that must be made.

The role of HR is to maximize the effectiveness and organization of your staff. This was elegantly put forward by the book "From Good to Great". In this business classic the author expresses a goal of "Getting the right people on the bus" and putting them in the "Right Seat". This is the potential of HR and the task is inherently difficult because every person put on the bus and every change in business strategy changes the right fit for the next seat. Proper assessment of your employees, contractors, and partners is critical to these bus decisions.

HR is a never ending stream of investigations, recommendations, negotiations, and decisions intended to assemble the best team. The problem, as every executive knows, is that there are a thousand ways to build a business, and not all people you build it with are the same. Right now our businesses are facing a very difficult economic period and it is time for many businesses to take roll call on the bus and assess the fitness of the team. This is where HR professionals can be a great asset to your management team.

HR's role is to manage the complexities of job match and to establish policy that provides a fair system for managing the unavoidable conflicts that happen in every organization. Some degree of personality conflict is actually good for a business and certainly we need diversity when we are trying to solve complex business issues. With diversity comes conflict and competition and when managed properly these are assets not liabilities. A strong HR can contribute as a natural third party that brings the diversity together and helps focus it on the business objectives.
As we lead our organizations through this difficult economic period we need to make sure we have the right people on the bus, and HR should take a lead role in validating this. We need to deploy the best tools we have for staff assessments, examine group dynamics, and professional development plans. We need to be asking the tough questions like:

Do we have people that have been over promoted?

Do we have people that need to be promoted?

Do we have technical experts in leadership roles rather than creating innovation in the organization?

Do we have leaders in technical roles?

Do the styles of the various leaders fit together as a well balanced team?

Do we need every position that is authorized?

Are salaries in line with the current market?

Do we have obtainable and clearly expressed goals for each position?

Are goals across the organization aligned with each other?

Are bonuses and incentives designed for maximum advancement of the business?

Are policies and procedures updated for changes in technology and staffing?

Do we have effective team practices in place?

Are people properly motivated?

These are tough introspective questions about your business but those that answer and then address these issues will be the ones talking about how they flourished during the 2009 recession. In the current economic condition some are going extremely defensive cutting every expense in sight and going to into extreme defensive mode. While others are taking advantage of their competitor's defensive position to gain market share. Which strategy is right for your business depends on who is on the bus and where you are going? It is time for the HR profession to step up and help their organizations facilitate this discussion.

Author: Sandra Dickerson Esq., Co-CEO, Your People Professionals

POP QUIZ: What Kind of Leader Are YOU?

2009-02-23T08:40:00.000-08:00

Take our quiz to find out what kind of leader you are. Keep in mind that leadership qualities can change depending on your role, your manager's leadership style, and your employees' differences. Also, you might use a combination of several styles depending on your team's personality, the type of role you have, and the work issues you face. This quiz only suggests how you might respond to important decisions that you might face on a regular basis.

1. You have two days to make a big decision. You:

2. What do employees want most from their jobs?

3. Your team misses a deadline. You:

4. When you have an idea you believe is good for the company, you:

5. When a trusted team member is late for three meetings in a row and is evasive with you about the reason, you:

6. Budget concerns mean there will be no raises in the new fiscal year. You:

A. Discuss the issue with no one, but write and distribute an internal memo instructing people with questions to see you.

B. Tell your veteran team members there will be no raises, and let them inform employees the way they see fit.

C. Convene a meeting of team members, break the news and allow questions. Then ask them for ideas on how to tell everyone else and what your organization can offer instead of raises.

D. You never plan raises in your budget anyway, so it doesn't matter.

If you answered mostly A: A is for autocratic leadership. Although you get the job done efficiently, you tend to be a bit inflexible and this could build resentment among employees, giving you results that will prevent your organization's growth (lack of development and high turnover).

Light-bulb moment: Develop some of your trusted subordinates by teaching them what you do so well, and you won't have to work such long hours. You might even enjoy work more!

If you answered mostly B: B is for benign, or laissez-faire leadership. Your style works best when people are old hands at their jobs, and your employees appreciate you for putting your trust in them. However, be sure to designate specifically who is responsible for which projects or they may not get done.

Light-bulb moment: Set firm deadlines and check along the way to make sure you get what you expect. Also, schedule dates for reports to come directly to you in the form (written or oral) that makes sense for you and the team.

If you answered mostly C: C is for collaborative leadership. It's a nice way to make team members feel useful and a good development tool. It also cuts down on cutthroat competition if everyone has an equal say.

Light-bulb moment: If you are a leader who thrives on quick decisions, or if your organization requires them, find a way to compromise between you-think and group-think.

If you answered mostly D: Your employees probably do not trust you. Do you trust yourself?

Light-bulb moment: One of the first things you can do is to lay a strong foundation by treating others the way you wish to be treated. If you want the responsibility of leading, develop your interpersonal skills in leadership training courses.

"Business is a combination of war and sport." - Andre Maurois, French Author

Who is your Chief Performance Officer?

2009-02-23T08:27:00.000-08:00

This week Barack Obama appointed a Chief Performance Officer for the Federal Government, focused on assessing the performance of government programs and finding opportunities to reduce waste and eliminate low-performing investments. So who is the Chief Performance Officer in a business?

We have been studying this issue and I wrote about this topic several years ago in CLO Magazine, so lets revisit this issue in today's economy. My thesis is that that strong Human Resources and L&D leaders have the opportunity to play this role in a highly strategic way.

Let us look at the three "owners" of performance in a business:

1. Business Leaders own operational business performance.

Unlike the Federal Government, where program managers are really "spenders," in our companies the people who spend money are held directly accountable for results. The VP of Sales has a sales quota, the VP of Manufacturing has a production and quality quota, and the VP of Customer Service has a customer satisfaction and rate of response quota.

2. Finance Leaders own financial monitoring and budgeting.

In most companies the CFO or Finance organization monitors spending, headcount, and expenses. Their job is not to drive performance, per-se, but rather to monitor financial performance and give the business and HR leaders the information they need to quickly realign resources when things are not going well.

For example, when Starbucks realized its business was slowing last Fall, the CFO quickly announced a slowdown in sales, store traffic, and other information - this information was then used by retail operations and staffing to cut or reduce hiring and close strategic locations. Ultimately the work of improving performance goes back to the business leaders.

3. Strategic HR and L&D Leaders create Processes and Systems to drive performance.

When done well, strategic HR or L&D leaders (often the CLO, or VP of OD) actually know more about why performance suffers than many other leaders. They have the tools and visibility to understand where weak leadership, low engagement, mis-alignment, or skills-gaps are holding the organization back.

In addition, the tools of talent management (performance management, goal alignment, leadership and supervisory development, succession management, total rewards) are powerful levers over performance. Our research clearly shows that these "people processes" really matter.

How People Processes drive Performance

Consider some of our research findings over the years. Organizations with a strong "learning culture" are 12-15% more profitable over a 10 year period than those without such a learning culture (The High Impact Learning Organization®, 2008). Organizations with strong competency-based performance management processes drive higher revenue growth and profitability by industry (The Role of Competencies in Driving Financial Performance, 2007).

Consider the impact of people on expense and resource allocation. The typical business spends 60-70% of its total expenses on payroll, and of course employees make decisions every day about where to spend money. When people are unproductive or misaligned, vast amounts of money are wasted.

Finally consider the importance of decision-making in an organziation. Every day virtually every employee makes decisions about what to do, how to behave, how to deal with customer or internal problems, and how to share or interact with others. These individual decisions (like tiny little economies in the macro-economy) make up the lifeblood of organizational performance. When the people side of the business is not managed, dysfunctional and unproductive decisions are being made all the time.

Building the "People Performance Model"

I would suggest that one of the most strategic things you can do as an HR or L&D leaders is to build your organization's "People Performance Model." Essentially this means uncovering the "secret sauce" which makes your organization perform. Let me give you an example.

This week I had the opportunity to talk with the Chief Talent Officer of Lowes. He told me that after a year of research among thousands of stores they found that the #1 driver of retail store financial performance is employee engagement. This is not a glib or simple conclusion. Similar research by Gallup (The Human Sigma), found that retail stores with high employee commitment levels generate 3.4X the return of stores with low employee commitment levels. In fact, this research found that retail employee engagement has a bigger factor on customer retention than satisfaction with the products themselves.

So in the case of Lowes, where the Chief Talent Officer analyzed store performance in detail, the company has now decomposed the level of engagement into three driving factors: employee-manager relationship, job fit and career opportunity, and total rewards. These findings are not rocket-science, but in the case of Lowes the correlation analysis is so strong that the company can go into each store, measure these three engagement elements, and predict how well a store will perform.
Lowes also found something else. There are two pivotal job roles which drive these three engagement indexes: the store manager and store sales manager. The store manager is a real manager; the store sales manager is actually an individual contributor who one would consider a strong "influencer" of in-store employee engagement.

This work is what one could call the "People Model" or "People Performance Model."
What Lowes can now do is filter all their HR and L&D investments against this model. In their case the Chief Talent Officer is looking at the company's leadership develpment programs with a strong focus on what it takes to help store managers better coach, align, and communicate with employees. In this case the solution involves a very specialized, highly customized supervisory development program.

Why HR or L&D Leaders are so Important

I would argue that you, as a strong HR or L&D leader, must lead this type of effort. You, as an HR or L&D professional, best understand the way that performance management, leadership, rewards, learning, and systems fit together to drive high performing teams and organizations. By working with your leadership, you also have the closest understanding of your company's "secret sauce."

As I will be presenting at IMPACT 2009® this year, our latest research clearly shows that organizations which implement high-performing learning cultures, strong talent management strategies, and build a true "people plan" drive much higher long term (5-10 year) financial performance than those which have weaker or less mature people strategies. If you are an HR or L&D leader, you should rethink your role as the "Chief Performance Officer." Rather than just "implement HR programs," focus on understanding the core people model in your organization:

What are the critical roles that drive success? What is the profile of a high-performer in your organization? What cultural and leadership elements drive success? Why do people fail in your organization? How can you use this information to build HR and L&D processes which build, reinforce, and improve these factors?

If you think about your role in this way, I can guarantee that you will become a "Chief Performance Officer" - and such a focus will improve your career, your impact, and your organization's success.

About This Analyst

Josh Bersin writes on the ever-changing landscape of business-driven learning and talent management. His favorite topics include strategic talent management, creating high-impact learning organizations, and how organizations drive business change and competitive advantage through talent strategy and technology.

The Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act (ADAAA):

2009-01-13T14:09:00.000-08:00

On September 25, 2008, President Bush signed the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA), for an effective date of January 1, 2009. The Act updated the Americans with Disabilities Act to provide broader protections (at the federal level). The Act is intended to strengthen the original intent of the Americans with Disabilities Act by clarifying several Supreme Court decisions. This new legislation allows more American workers to qualify as disabled under the new guidelines.

There are three major changes to the current Americans with Disabilities Act. The new law:

So what does this new federal legislation mean for the small business employer in California? Not as much as you may think.

The Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) in California, which applies to employers with 5 or more employees, requires that an employer provide reasonable accommodation to persons with disabilities. California law also prohibits discrimination against a person based on a medical condition. A "medical condition includes any health related to or associated with a diagnosis of cancer, or a record or history of cancer, as well as an individual's genetic characteristics". In a California Court of Appeal, it was held that the FEHA does require reasonable accommodation in a "regarded as" situation.

FEHA remains as strict as the newly amended federal ADA, and may be even stricter in some regards. However, any time there is publicity about employment laws, remember that your employees hear or read it also, and your exposure to lawsuits increases. It's important to be aware of your ADA obligations and be alert to possible ADA triggers such as:

candidate screening: including a question on your application that asks if an applicant has a disability
employee absences: frequent absences or absences for long periods of time
performance issues: a sudden change in productivity or quality of work
behavioral change: inability to focus, inconsistency with job tasks, inability to work with others
employee termination: your employee resigns and then rescinds their resignation, or resigns for personal reasons.

As always, stay alert and if you need clarity or have questions contact your Human Resources representative or legal counsel.

Don't Let Economic Stress Become an Employment Lawsuit

2008-12-31T10:56:00.002-08:00

None of us can be certain of what to expect in these turbulent economic times but we can be certain most of us will see increased workplace challenges. HR professionals and the labor law community are being advised to anticipate significant increases in work related complaints and lawsuits as the fallout from the current economic downturn continues.

In this volatile business climate employees are anxious to alleviate their economic and emotional pain and an employer may become the focus of employee frustration and anger. The result may be a financially and emotionally draining lawsuit at a time when every business resource is already stretched too thin. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reported 2007 as having the highest volume of incoming private sector discrimination charge filings since 2002 and the largest annual increase since the early 1990's. We can only imagine what the final tally for 2008 and beyond will be given the rapid deterioration in overall economic conditions. Employers who believe this won't happen to them can be seriously wrong; former employees who find their unemployment benefits ending, savings gone and no other job prospects in sight have significant motivation to look for a lawsuit.

Lawsuits can run the gamut from age discrimination to harassment. In a volatile economic climate employers must be extra vigilant to ensure legally compliant employment practices are in place and enforced. Managers and supervisors must be educated on legal employment practices and held accountable for maintaining sound HR practices.

Workforce reductions are a particularly difficult issue and employers often make serious legal mistakes which leave them vulnerable to wrongful termination suits. Some simple advance planning and careful management of the termination process can make all the difference in terms of legal liability.

If a workforce reduction becomes necessary the following steps are critically important:

Determine the criteria to be used to establish who will be laid off and be certain it is consistently applied. Carefully evaluate whether your criteria have a disparate impact on protected categories before you implement your plan. If there is any question call on a professional to do an objective evaluation.
If you are basing reductions on merit be certain your selection process can withstand scrutiny. Nothing spells lawsuit faster than laying off someone for poor performance when their performance reviews have been positive. This is also not a time to try to rewrite history so be sure if you have a performance appraisal process in place it gives an accurate picture of an employee's performance.
Document the workforce reduction process and educate your managers on the process and their responsibilities.
Be honest with employees during the process and avoid making promises or sugar coating the truth.
Always treat laid off employees with dignity.
If at all possible have more than one person present during the termination and document it.

Maintaining solid HR practices during difficult economic times is the key to preventing difficult and costly legal challenges.

How to Judge Applicants

2008-11-18T13:12:00.000-08:00

"The trouble with doing something right the first time is that nobody appreciates how difficult it was"
Walt West

Most employers are still using the interview as their primary screening device. While the interview is an important aspect of the process, it is very
subjective. Studies show that using an interview alone gives you only a 14% chance of the employee being successful.

By doing background checks and checking references this percentage increases to 26%, or about 1 out of 4 people you hire will ultimately be successful in the position.

What Works?
It is important to look at the steps leading to a hiring decision and to limit personal biases as much as possible.

Today, employers have proven scientific ways to make the hiring decision a less emotional one. For instance, many people have told me they can know in 30 seconds if a person is right to hire. Unless you are a psychic, this is a very unproductive and
dangerous way to make hiring decisions. Decisions based primarily on personal biases upon first impression typically backfire.

The more scientific the screening process, the better opportunity you have of hiring the best person for the right position in your company.

What works is extensive recruiting and testing. Broader recruitment increases the talent pool. Let's look at what integrated processes can do to increase employee success and lower turnover. Turnover in a company is extremely expensive and disruptive to production.

Self Screening Devices
A supplemental questionnaire to your normal application that asks pertinent questions specifically related to the skills, knowledge abilities and duties
for this specific position is important.

Candidates often determine that they do not have the appropriate skills or would not like the specific duties that are critical to the position.

Personality Characteristics
Measuring personality characteristics needed for the position improve the hiring process success rate to 38%.

Abilities
When applicants are assessed for abilities as well as personality, employers found they hired the right people approximately 54% percent of the time.

Interests
Using more sophisticated assessments that measure the interests of the candidate compared to the position raises the bar to 66%.

Job Match
The most impressive assessments to date are integrated assessments that measure a combination of factors, as well as introduce the component of "job match."

This cutting-edge technology combined with empirical data evaluate "The Total Person" in a way that measures how candidates match the exemplary employees in the position.

These assessments have increased an employer's ability to identify potentially excellent employees better than 75% of the time; a far cry from the rate of 14% rate using interviews only.

The Payoff
Doing it right really pays off! Take the time and make the small upfront investment to learn about the position being filled, what type of behavior it requires and what type of person best fits the job. The rewards are great; your business is more successful since your company is only as good as your employees.

I try to do the right thing at the right time. They may just be little things, but usually they make the difference between winning
and losing.”
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar , LA Lakers

Interviews: Rambling Candidates Can Be Risky

2008-11-18T13:05:00.000-08:00

Strong interviewing skills enable hiring managers to avoid crossing the "too much information" (TMI) line and to rein an interview back in when a job candidate oversteps that boundary.

Interviewers who are not skilled in the process sometimes ask questions or make comments that are inappropriate or irrelevant. They intentionally or unintentionally broach certain topics that are off-limits during an interview, including marital status, personal companionship practices, the Candidate's medical history, and religious affiliations, and they sometimes use that information when making hiring decisions.

Similarly, some interviewers are not adept at reining in an interview when an Candidate goes off on a tangent or reveals personal information. That's a problem, because interviewees who cross the TMI line reveal information that employers could--purposely or inadvertently--factor in when making an employment decision.

If the information relates to the candidate's ethnic background or religious affiliation, for example, that could lead to a claim of discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

In addition, allowing an interviewee to ramble about irrelevant information, provide details about his or her personal life, or complain about a previous job, takes away from the purpose of the interview---to determine whether the candidate is the best match for the job.

Skilled interviewers are able to focus on the requirements of a particular job and how closely a candidate matches those requirements, she says.

Many employees with interviewing responsibilities need more training. Training should cover the topics that can--and can't--be addressed during the interview process, as well as effective interviewing techniques.

To minimize your risk:

Know what the job entails. Before starting an interview, interviewers need to understand the requirements of the particular job and what skills and competencies the successful candidate should have.

Prepare interview questions. This helps ensure consistency with all Candidate interviews and keep focus on getting the information you need to make a good assessment of the Candidate.

Rein in the interview when necessary. Interviewees who are nervous or who don't have a good response to a question may ramble, she says. "The onus is on the interviewer to rein it in and help the candidate get back on track." That often can be accomplished by rephrasing a question, and not allowing the Candidate to evade the question. The goal of an interview is to get the best essence of someone you can, relative to what you're interviewing them for.

Making objective personnel decisions. If an interviewee reveals personal information, the interviewer must not let his or her own biases factor into the employment decision, she says. "Bias has to be kept out of the decision-making process. It's hard. It's natural for all of us to interject our bias."

HAVING A WORKPLACE POLICY MAY NOT BE ENOUGH-TRAINING AND ENFORCEMENT ARE CRITICAL

2008-10-23T17:18:00.000-07:00

Cell phones are a valuable tool in conducting business and more employees are using them to perform their jobs. Cell phones can positively support productivity by connecting employees to the office and to clients. On the down side, cell phones bring up a number of issues involving safety, security, and privacy. And, as the whole world now knows, inappropriate use of cell phones can create liability issues for employers. If an employee has a moving vehicle accident and hurts someone while making a work-related or non-work-related cell phone call, the employer as well as the employee may be found liable.

The accident that occurred with the Metrolink is an unfortunate and real example of what can happen when policies may not be clearly understood or followed. The Metrolink train accident that occurred on September 12, 2008 in Los Angeles was the worst train accident in the United States in several years. Twenty-five commuters were killed and several others were injured. The most recent report by federal investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board stated that the conductor was “texting” just seconds before the accident occurred.

On July 1, 2008, California instituted cell phone regulations that required a driver to use a hands-free device while talking on their cell phone while driving. Reviewing the Cell Phone law that went into effect on July 1, 2008, the term “hands free” may not be clearly explained or defined. According to the Department of Motor Vehicles, the “hands free” law does not specifically prohibit drivers 18 and older to text message while driving, but an officer can pull a driver over and issue a citation, if, in the officer’s opinion, the driver is distracted and not operating the vehicle safely. The DMV also states in their Wireless Telephone Laws FAQs that “sending text messages while driving is unsafe at any speed and is strongly discouraged”. So California has gone further to clarify cell phone use and “texting” while driving. It will be unlawful beginning January 1, 2009.

This is probably a good time to revisit your Cell Phone policy. If you do not have a Cell Phone policy it may be time to consider creating a policy. As you review or create a policy consider other issues of concern when drafting a workplace policy. Employers must understand that it is not enough to create and publish a policy. An employer must ensure a company policy is clear, explicit and understandable by all levels of the organization. It is also worthwhile to note that an effective workplace policy includes appropriate dissemination, training, follow-up and enforcement of the policy. Establishing and following through with this process can help ensure that employees understand the policy and their responsibility with regard to the policy and it can possibly help reduce the employer’s liability if an issue should come up.

As a Human Resources professional and or employer you must understand and interpret legal requirements for your employees. It may mean you work with legal counsel to clarify and interpret as clearly as possible the requirements of a law. For example, using the cell policy that is currently in effect, what does “hands free” legally mean? Should it include the Department of Motor Vehicles recommendation that sending and receiving texts messages is not safe and should be discouraged? As stated in a previous paragraph, the new law, effective January 1, 2009, takes the July 1, 2008 law one step further. It specifically prohibits “writing, sending, or reading text-based communication – including text messaging, instant messaging, and e-mail – on a wireless device or cell phone while driving”.

You have established a clear and concise policy; the next step in the process is to communicate the policy so employees understand the policy. Step 1 is to provide the policy electronically or in hard copy form and require the employee to sign a Confirmation of Receipt of the Policy. Communicating the policy may also include reasons or rationale for the policy. Providing reasons may actually help the employee understand the policy more clearly. Step 2 requires you, the employer to provide training about the policy. This includes explaining the policy to the employee and providing the employee the opportunity to ask questions about the policy so he/she understands the policy more clearly and therefore understands his/her responsibility for the policy. For instance, using the new “texting” policy as an example, the employer can emphasize how the new “texting” policy focuses on employee and company safety. The final step in the process is to monitor the policy’s effectiveness. Verify the policy is uniformly applied throughout the company and all employees, supervisors and managers are following the policy. If and when you find that employee, supervisors or managers are not complying with the policy you have an obligation to address the non-compliance. It might include additional training or clarification or some level of disciplinary action.

Remember the new “texting” law goes into effect on January 1, 2009 and now is the time to updae an existing policy or create a new cell phone policy.

Caution: Do Not Let Economic Stress Lead to Careless HR Practices

2008-10-20T13:27:00.000-07:00

Several months ago I wrote about the stresses employees may face during an economic downturn. Little did we know then just how much more dire the economic news would become. During these bumpy economic times employees and managers may be faced with complex HR challenges that require careful management to ensure best HR practices are maintained.

Layoffs
An economic downturn may mean layoffs but employers can minimize their risk of wrongful termination claims with good HR practices. The first line of defense occurs when the employment relationship is established. Ideally all new business should have employees sign an agreement that protects the at-will employment status. If layoffs are on the horizon it is time to standardize termination procedures and train supervisors on protecting the at-will relationship. Supervisors must also be clear on the importance of consistency when layoffs occur. Companies should have objective, nondiscriminatory criteria when selecting employees for layoffs. If the layoff involves a worker with an actual or perceived disability employers should seek the advice of an experienced HR professional or legal counsel. The same advice applies if an employee has recently returned from a legally protected leave or if the employee has made harassment claims or reported safety violations.

Proper handling of the layoff process is the best possible way to avoid messy and costly discrimination and wrongful termination suits. It is very important to give an employee accurate information about why you are terminating their employment. Do not tell an employee you are laying them off for economic reasons if the termination is due to performance issues.

Wage & Hour Compliance
A Stanford Law Review article by John Donohue and Peter Siegelman (The Changing Nature of Employment Discrimination Litigation, 43 Stan. Law. Rev. 983 (1991)) has interesting information with regard to the relationship between the economy and employment litigation. Recessionary economies mean increased employment suits and damage awards also increase.
To avoid wage and hour compliance complaints you must carefully track hourly employee's time and accurately track and pay overtime wages. It is also important to enforce meal and rest break requirements. Be certain exempt employees are properly classified as misclassification is one of the most significant areas of employment litigation.

Workplace Violence
Times of economic stress may lead to an increased incidence of workplace violence. Employees may be coping with financial stresses at home and more demands at work as businesses seek to maintain productivity with a reduced workforce. A proactive approach can reduce your risk of workplace violence which can take both a financial and human toll.

Employers need a zero-tolerance policy that addresses violent acts and intimidation in the workplace. The policy should be communicated to all employees and must include reporting procedures as well as disciplinary action up to an including termination as a remedy.

Risk Management
Be particularly aware of risk management practices during an economic downturn. Stressed and overworked employees are less likely to carefully follow safety protocols which can lead to an increase in workplace injuries. Another serious concern is the potential increase in workers compensation claims as employees facing potential layoffs seek to replace their income. An economic downturn is also not the time to reduce safety training and equipment as a cost cutting measure because the long term consequences can be even more expensive.

Serious economic times call for sound HR polices and practices. A commitment to maintaining good HR fundamentals even when the economy is unsteady can help protect your assets and the human capital you rely on to keep your business on track.

Performance Management: Moving Beyond the Annual Review

2008-09-08T11:16:00.000-07:00

Performance management is a hot topic these days, and along with change management, you'll find the business section of the bookstore overflowing with titles on the topic. But for most managers and business owners, performance management is what you think about with a sense of guilt, feeling that you should be doing written performance reviews on your people, but not knowing how to find the time.

To really manage the performance of your employees, though, there are a few basic things you can do to ensure your employees are giving, and gaining, the most possible in their positions. Yes, as an HR Director, I of course recommend written reviews, but if you can do these simple steps, you will be managing performance, and contributing to the success of your organization.

True performance management starts in the hiring process. Often in the rush to fill a position, we overlook such basic things as whether the person will be able to be successful in the position. This goes beyond asking a candidate to describe their relevant work experience. You want to use the experience of the interview to tell you as much as possible about the potential employee. Are they very nervous? Plenty of people get nervous in job interviews, but if you're hiring for a sales person or front-line client contact, you are probably looking for someone who appears confident in any business situation and can be a strong representative of your company. Don't ignore the signs in the interview process. Just as you wouldn't hire an excessively nervous person for a hard-driving sales position, pay attention to what the candidate tells you about themselves. If they describe themselves as non-confrontational and gentle, you probably don't want to hire that person to do your collections. It sounds obvious, but many managers pick up on positive traits in a candidate, and ignore the rest of the story, at their peril.

Another simple action that managers can do to manage performance is pay attention to where your employees are making mistakes. Do you have someone who sits at your desk and nods when getting instructions, but then goes off and does things their own way, unsuccessfully? Do you have an employee who, when confronted with a mistake, claims never to have been trained on it? In the first case, you can help your employee by ensuring that they are taking notes, or by training them verbally while they physically go through the procedure. Those are two different ways of communicating information and accommodating different learning styles. For the defensive employee complaining they've never been trained, consider following up training with emails or written procedures to reinforce the learning. The bottom line with this action is that as a manager, you can choose to treat mistakes as annoyances or as coaching opportunities, and managers that choose the latter are truly managing performance.

A third guideline for managers is to be more direct than you think you need to be. It's amazing to me, even though I'm guilty of it as well, how often we assume that we're on the same page as people we're working with. We assume that they know what our goals are, and the end result we're looking for. What I've found, though, is that employees can deliver the best results when they understand the most about the problem and the desired resolution. So rather than being vague with your deliverables, be specific, be clear, and be thorough. Sometimes spelling it out on the front end can save clean-up and repairs on the back end.

Managers are responsible for making sure that resources are utilized for maximum effectiveness with minimum effort, meaning that you are being as efficient as possible. This means that managing performance throughout the entire employment cycle, and not just at annual intervals, is essential in successfully doing a Manager's job.

CEO Roundtables

2008-08-22T13:53:00.000-07:00

I have had the privilege and honor to be the Program Administrator for the CEO Roundtable program since its inception in mid-2005. Over the years I have seen it grow from a concept in a conference room to a regional program serving over 40 local CEO with 4 active tables. I am impressed by the world-class caliber of the local CEOs, the businesses they have built, and their personal agendas. These are the most talented individuals in our community sharing best practices and developing professional relationships that make our business community more competitive. The CEOs are energized by different perspectives leading to fresh approaches to complex challenges. At times it's an amazing process to be a part of.

A prospect member CEO asked me why Your People Professionals (YPP) built the CEO Roundtable program and I must admit I stuttered a little answering the question. The program is modeled after the one in Milwaukee where it is run by the Chamber of Commerce. I had belonged to the program in Milwaukee for several years as a member CEO before moving to the Central Coast. I had friends within that program that assisted us in building the local program by sharing exactly how the program worked. The Milwaukee program has been around since the 1950's and the roster of member CEOs reads like a Who's Who of the Region. For an organization like a Chamber it is easy to understand why they would start and run a CEO Roundtable. It helps promote and advance the business community and this is core to their non-profit mission. YPP on the other hand is a private for-profit company that provides Human Resource Services to other businesses. They saw a requirement to help their client's CEOs develop professionally and they saw peer groups as a key element to their executive development strategy. So they decided to take on the role of the community HR Executive and find a way to bring this resource to the community. Their vision was, and is, that a stronger business community would be better for their business.

There was plenty of discussion in the early days about keeping the program within YPP and making it a profit center. There are plenty of examples in the market place where private businesses have monetized programs like this. Examples abound in the market with national programs like Vistage and many other consulting groups that use this concept to create billable hours. However, the goal and intent was to serve and improve the business community, not to create a revenue stream. As the concept developed it became apparent that in order to grow to the community level that the program would have to be community based. To serve the YPP clients it had to involve business leaders beyond the client list of any one company. This strategic decision to partner with others allowed the program to build relationships with Softec, the Economic Vitality Corporation, and the Santa Maria Chamber of Commerce. These non-profit partners allowed the program to connect to the regional business community. YPP partnered with BLHK, which is now known as Caliber Accounting Group and Longcrier & Associates. This partnership provided us with additional networking reach and many other resources.

To understand what a CEO Roundtable is and how it serves it members you first have to understand the world of a CEO. CEOs are unlike any other person in an organization because they have to provide leadership on the tough decisions that cross multiple specialties. CEOs do not have the luxury of taking one perspective to a problem because they have to bring together the diverse specialties and get everyone headed in the same direction. All CEOs were at one time in sales, finance, operations, IT, accounting, administration, human resources, manufacturing, or some other department. However, as CEOs, they have to balance all these areas and they have to reasonably come to a position that everyone can support. It's a tough job when you consider some of the natural conflicts in every business. CEOs must be fair and consider all perspectives and then lead people through the decision and implementation.

Business leaders need to continue to develop as professionals and for CEOs this is a tough challenge. While far from a complete solution the CEO Roundtables give them a unique peer environment that allows them to challenge themselves. The program gives them opinions from respected peers that do not report to them. The honest and sometime brutal opinions can be absolute eye openers on decisions that are critical to their business. While not every meeting is a home run I have witnessed many exchanges that I know later helped shape the CEOs decision and it helped improve the business. There is just something magical about a room full of highly talented natural leaders that just makes taking a problem apart seem simple. CEOs share how they have addressed specific areas, what has worked, and more importantly what has failed. The level of honestly is, at times, amazing.

In a recent meeting the discussion was on data security and as everyone knows there is no perfect solution to security. The tighter you make the security the more problems you create for operations and the higher your costs. It was fun to watch a room full CEOs tear this problem down and look at the pieces. It will take time before the meeting has any impact but you could tell by the conversation that people in the room were being exposed to solutions and perspectives they had not thought of themselves. Will something change, will one of the businesses get better? Who knows but what is clear is that CEOs absorbed one more aspect of the business puzzle.

The other thing that this program has done is it has created relationships between these highly talented people. As we all know it not what you know but who you know. I have seen some major issues tackled with relationships built in the program. While the details are private I have seen major improvements in costs, operations, new business, technology, and negotiations. I have seen members transition from one phase of their life to another with support from their roundtable.

The program has not been without its challenges. The biggest problem has been finding openings in the tables for all the CEOs that want to be involved. We have 4 active tables and for the first 3 years the vast majority of support came from YPP but with just a few actual clients being served by the program there have been growth limits on the program. This month we put in place, with the full approval and support of the members, a small administrative fee to allow the program to grow. With this we transferred the program to Softec, one of our non-profit sponsors. This provides a program oversight by a highly respected independent Board and paves the way for other companies to step up as program sponsors.

The program is healthy and ready to grow!

If you are interested in getting involved contact Bob Dumouchel bob@smsrd.com

The Economy is Bad so Why Are Employees Clamoring for More Money?

2008-07-15T13:39:00.000-07:00

For many companies business is down and costs are up.

As a manager you may be spending hours crunching the numbers to figure out where you can cut expenses and how much you can raise your prices without losing your customers. The last thing you are prepared for is employees to start demanding pay increases. Surely your employees realize times are tough and they should be grateful just to have a job, right? Careful, you may be in for a big surprise if you do not build salary increases into your planning scenarios.

There are some obvious reasons why your employees may be asking for more money. The same rising costs you contend with in your business are also hitting workers' pocketbooks. Rising fuel prices impact all aspects of workers' budgets, from daily commutes to increased food prices. You certainly didn't tell your employee to go buy that big SUV but now that gas prices have surpassed $4.00 a gallon you still need them to get to work and in order to do that they must fill the gas tank, particularly in areas without adequate public transportation or other viable alternatives.

The housing crisis may be just a statistic on the nightly news to some but in many American households it is a very personal financial emergency. The complexities of the current housing crisis will be analyzed and argued about for years to come. The issue from your employees' perspective is that wages have not kept pace with either home ownership costs or the rental market. According to June 2008 information published by the California Department of Housing and Community Development a worker earning minimum wage would need to work 120 hours per week to afford an average two bedroom unit at $1249 per month. The 2008 California Family Self-Sufficiency Standard estimates a single person in Santa Barbara County must earn a minimum of $13.86 per hour and in San Luis Obispo County a minimum of $11.52 per hour just to cover the most basic costs of living. In Los Angeles County the minimum is $12.51 per hour and in San Francisco it is $12.17 per hour.

Health care costs are also rising at an alarming rate both for employers faced with ever increasing costs to insure employees and employees who often must pick up a larger share and pay more out-of-pocket to maintain coverage. In a June 17, 2008 article the New York Times quoted Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke speaking before a Senate panel, “Improving the performance of our health care system is without a doubt one of the most important challenges our nation faces”.

There are also some less obvious but equally important reasons employers may find themselves facing more pressure to give wage increases to employees. Overall the demand for skilled workers remains strong. There are certainly downturns in some industries, most visibly construction and housing, however overall the unemployment rate remains relatively low in many regions. While the May unemployment data for California shows an average rate of 6.5% many areas still have very low unemployment rates. The unemployment rate for San Luis Obispo County in May was 5.2% and Santa Barbara County was 4.6%, both below the National rate of 5.5%. In San Francisco it was 4.9% with Los Angeles County coming in closest to the statewide average at 6.4%.

The labor pool is also changing rapidly. Baby boomers are set to retire in record numbers which will leave many industries scrambling to replace skilled workers. Estimates of the number of retirees and the associated brain drain from the economy vary widely. Most experts agree it will have a significant impact on the economy worldwide and for many industries a significant shortage of skilled workers is predicted. According to an April 2008 Sacramento Bee Article written by Daniel Weintraub,

"At times like this it can be tempting to conclude that California's economy is falling apart, that all the good jobs are gone and our young people will be forced to fight over a few low-paying positions in the service sector. But as bleak as things look today, and they may well get worse in the months ahead, the long term is likely to be very different. Within a few years, in fact, the big story in California might be a shortage of skilled workers, not a shortage of jobs for them to fill." Employers must maintain a long term perspective if they are to retain their most skilled employees who will be in ever increasing demand as the economy begins to recover. The Economic Research Institute notes that employers are expected to give increases for 2009 of around 4% but that rate may vary significantly depending on the industry and the demand for labor and skills within their industry.

Adding to labor market pressures, fewer workers are willing to relocate to new areas, particularly if they own a home they would need to sell in this uncertain real estate market. If you are in an industry that requires a skilled workforce you may face added wage pressures from headhunters calling on your employees with tempting offers. The Federal Reserve Beige Book for June 2008 acknowledged that wage pressures were limited in many sectors, "However, wage increases remained rapid for skilled workers in selected sectors, such as computer services." DICE Holdings specializes in technology and financial service sector recruiting and CEO Scot Melland had this to say about the results of a recent DICE survey, "The weakness in the employment market is not impacting compensation. In many categories this is still a tight labor market and companies realize they have to pay competitive wages and take into account the cost of living."

The experience of an economic downturn may be a new one for many workers who have never fully experienced a recession. Even average income working Americans have grown accustomed to a lifestyle that includes a lot of luxuries, both big and small. When everything from a fast food dinner to postponing the purchase of a new car begins to feel like deprivation employees will look to close the economic gap with higher salaries.

What does all of this mean for employers? First, be conscious of wage pressures so you understand what is happening in your industry. Don't just assume your employees will be willing to stay put without raises, especially if they have high demand skills. Make sure any financial planning you do takes realistic wage increases in account. If raises are not an option it may be time go get creative. Companies experiencing financial strain may need to try other ways to help employees face rising costs and maintain employee morale. Perhaps employees can work a 4 day schedule to reduce commuting expenses or telecommute. (see article by Reed Jorgenson on the legal issues involved with alternative workweek schedules)

There is no set formula for addressing wage issues but a little research and planning are the best way to be prepared to address the issue with employees.

Secret Ballots and Government Notification?: What Employers Need to Know About Alternative Schedules in California

2008-07-14T09:20:00.000-07:00

Gas prices continue to soar, and hourly employees are feeling the pain as more and more of their paychecks go right into their gas tanks. People are turning down positions 15 miles away from their homes, citing gas costs as the reason, and employers, also faced with rising costs of doing business in a down economy, aren't able to match candidate demands. Facing constant pressure to keep wages competitive and costs low, what is an employer to do?

Many companies are coming up with creative solutions to this problem, and are increasing employee loyalty and retention at the same time. Some companies have instituted free public transportation passes, or are even going so far as to coordinate carpools for employees. It used to be that providing paid parking was a benefit for most employees, but now the real benefit is the company that can help them get to work. Even for local employers on the central coast, where public transportation is very limited, companies might consider contracting with a vanpool service to provide additional commute alternatives to their employees.

Alternative schedules are another way of dealing with this issue, and one that employers are increasingly exploring. Alternative schedules include a 4/10 workweek (four, ten-hour days) or what is known as the 9/80 schedule, which allows employees to work a 9-hour day, and take every other Friday off. Employees reap the benefit of these alternative schedules in the form of reduced commute costs and more days off, and employers often see increased employee retention and satisfaction using these schedules.

However, instituting an alternative schedule requires more than just a decision. In fact, California wage & hour regulations require a very detailed, multi-step process involving secret-ballot elections and notification to the State of any alternative workweek. The detailed language of the requirements for alternative schedules can be found in the Wage Orders promulgated by the Industrial Welfare Commission. (As a reminder, too, every employer is required to post the applicable wage order for your business, so you should also be able to locate this information on the bulletin board with the rest of your required postings.)

A few of the basics that employers should be aware of is that an alternative schedule can be put in place for the whole company, or just a department or work unit. So for instance, you may find that an alternative schedule will really benefit your hourly manufacturing staff, but won't make much difference for your highly-compensated administrative staff. Because of the formality of the election process, make sure you survey your employees first and find out what will work for them, and what will work for your business needs. This saves the cost of conducting an election, and then having to re-do it because you've instituted a schedule that doesn't provide the staff coverage you need.

Prior to the actual election, an employer is required to provide a written disclosure to all the affected employees, "including the effects of the proposed arrangement on the employees' wages, hours, and benefits. Such a disclosure shall include meeting(s), duly noticed, held at least 14 days prior to voting, for the specific purpose of discussing the effects of the alternative workweek schedule." What follows is then a regulation-mandated election process, and then notification to the Division of Labor Statistics and Research of the new schedule.

Any employer considering implementation of an alternative schedule should walk through the process required by the Wage Orders, and should make sure that their HR department is involved in the entire process, to ensure compliance with the wage order and seamless integration with payroll and benefits.

Desperate times call for desperate measures, and even with the administrative burdens imposed by the State, many employers will see the benefit of instituting alternative workweeks. To make sure they're legal, though, companies must make sure to comply with the IWC regulations, or risk severe penalties.

National Weather Service Issues "Excessive Heat Watch"; State Officials Issue Heat Illness Prevention Alert

2008-05-14T09:54:00.000-07:00

The National Weather Service has issued Special Weather Statements in regards to heat and an Excessive Heat Watch onTuesday, May 13, 2008. Such is the statewide concern over the potential hazards to employee health and well-being posed by this heat wave, state officials from the Divivision of Occupational Safety & Health, Department of Industrial Relations, and the Labor & Workforce Development Agency organized a conference call and issued alerts to employers and other stakeholders.

Although all employers have a duty to provide a safe and healthful working environment for employees, Cal/OSHA regulations now require any employers with outdoor worksites to provide training and have a written program on Heat Illness Prevention. Because of statewide high and possible record-high temperatures expected in the short term, and probably all summer, various California state officials have issued an alert to employers to remind them of the duties to provide Heat Illness training. The regulations, originally issued in 2006, require all employers with outdoor worksites to:

1. Provide heat illness prevention training to all employees, including supervisors.

2. Provide enough fresh water so that each employee can drink at least 1 quart per
hour and encourage them to do so.

3. Provide access to shade for at least 5 minutes of rest when an employee believes he or she needs a preventative recovery period. They should not wait until they feel sick to do so.

4. Develop and implement written procedures for complying with the heat illness prevention standard

The Division of Occupational Safety and Health has also provided the following information to help employers comply with the regulations:

TRAINING
Before employees can work outdoors, employers are required to provide them with heat illness prevention training. This mandatory training for supervisors and employees under the new standard includes the following information:
-Environmental and personal risk factors
-Employer's heat illness prevention plan and procedures
-They need to drink water frequently throughout the day.
-Importance of acclimatization (allowing the body to adjust gradually to the work in high heat)
-Types of heat illness and the signs and symptoms
-Necessity of immediately reporting to an employer any signs or symptoms
-Employer's procedures for responding to symptoms
-Employer's procedures for contacting emergency medical services. This includes alternative modes of transportation
-Employer's procedures for emergency communications. This includes the emergency response procedures such as location, local medical services, and communication alternatives.

Adjusting to the heat
One training component for employees on heat illness prevention is the importance of acclimatization, or adjusting to physical activity in hot weather. The body needs time to adapt to increased heat and humidity, especially when one is engaged in heavy physical exertion. Typically, people need four to fourteen days to adjust fully to significant increases in the heat. Cal/OSHA data reveals that most workplace deaths related to heat illness that occurred last year involved new employees who were on the job only one to four days and were unaccustomed to working in hot or humid weather.

While the heat illness prevention standard calls for employers to train employees on the importance of acclimatization, it is up to employers to determine what acclimatization procedures they will use. The best strategy is to allow employees, and especially new ones, to adjust to hot weather by gradually increasing to a full work shift and pace. On very hot days, other good strategies include timing the shift so that more work can be done during the cooler parts of the day, increasing the number of water and rest breaks, and using a "buddy system" so that workers and supervisors can monitor each other. Also, employees should be reminded of the cooling benefits of wearing loose fitting, light-colored clothing and a wide-brimmed hat, when it's feasible.

SHADE

Recent safety and health data shows that all the surviving victims of heat illness had access to some shade during work periods, lunch, or at breaks. Under Cal/OSHA's new standard, an employee working outdoors who wants to cool off must be provided with shade for 5 minutes at a time. Shade for heat illness recovery periods must be accessible to employees at all times. In industries other than agriculture, employers may utilize measures other than shade to provide cooling if they can demonstrate that these alternative measures are at least as effective as shade.

According to the new standard, shade means blockage of direct sunlight. Shade is sufficient when objects do not cast a shadow in the shaded area and there is sufficient space for the employee to be comfortable. Shade is not adequate when the temperature in the shaded area prevents cooling. You must avoid sources of shade such as metal sheds or parked cars that are hot from sitting in the sun. Also, tractors and other machinery do not qualify as sources of shade and have the potential to create an even greater hazard. If you have employees who work outdoors, consider some easy-to-assemble portable sources of shade, such as umbrellas, canopies, or other temporary structures. Buildings, canopies, and trees all can qualify for shade as long as they block the sunlight and are either ventilated or open to air movement.

WATER

The third component of the new standard requires an employer to provide employees, working outdoors, one quart of potable, fresh and cool water per person, per hour. In last year's case studies, Cal/OSHA data revealed drinking water was present at all worksites, even though 78% of those who succumbed to the heat suffered from dehydration. Therefore, it is critical to keep drinking water accessible and remind your workers to drink it frequently.

WRITTEN PROCEDURES

The new standard requires an employer's heat illness prevention procedures to be in writing and made available to employees and to representatives of Cal/OSHA upon request. These written procedures must include:
-How an employer will comply with the heat illness standard requirements.
-How to respond to symptoms of possible heat illness, including how emergency medical services will be provided.
-How to contact emergency medical services, and if necessary, how employees will be transported to a point where they can be reached by an emergency medical service provider.
-How they will ensure that, in the event of an emergency, clear and precise directions to the work site can and will be provided as needed to emergency responders.
-Employers are encouraged to integrate their heat illness prevention procedures into their Injury and Illness Prevention Programs (IIPPs). All the elements of the Heat Illness Prevention standard must be implemented to prevent serious illness to your workers. By protecting your employees from heat illness, you promote a healthier and more productive workplace.

To learn more about the shade, water, written procedures and training requirements of the Heat Illness Prevention Standard, visit http://www.dir.ca.gov/.

Boss or Team Coach?

2008-05-13T09:03:00.000-07:00

Say the word coach and virtually everyone will form a mental picture. It may conjure up an image of little league, your days as a high school athlete, the debate team or even the trainer you hired to help you get into shape. Most of us have been coached at some point in our lives with varying degrees of success.

In recent years, many of the concepts coaches use to develop winning teams are being translated from the playing field to the workplace. Coaching techniques are being employed as another tool employers can use to build a winning workforce and maintain a competitive edge in a tightening global labor market.

When working with an athlete to achieve peak performance coaches know they must find the right balance between challenging and nurturing individuals, often as they simultaneously attempt to create a winning team from disparate talents and personalities. The most successful coaches somehow manage to make that delicate balance look effortless. The workplace provides a similar set of challenges. For some managers coaching is an instinctive personal style that they fine tune through practice and experience. For many managers the concept of coaching will require a shift in how they view the management role and perhaps an adaptation of their instinctive personal style.

How do the skills coaches employ translate into the workplace? Coaches begin by first assessing the talents and skills of an individual and how those skills and talents fit into the big picture whether it is a team or an individual sport. Great coaches never stop there, they continue to evaluate, assess and review that initial picture as the individual matures and the needs of the team change. And a great coach recognizes and acknowledges the value of each member of the team whether they are the star quarterback or in a supporting role.

But can coaching skills work in the business world? Yes, but first you may need to shift your perspective. In a coaching focused work environment the old top down command and control view of management is passe.

The manager in a coaching work environment is not required or expected to play the role of the all knowing wizard, controlling every aspect of when, where and how the work gets accomplished. Freed from the need to control and fix everything that happens in the business, managers can focus on creating a more collaborative work environment. Well coached employees begin to assume greater responsibility for how their work contributes to the overall goals of the organization and are encouraged and expected to think and work more independently. When the approach is effectively applied the end result will be a more engaged, happier and productive workforce.

Sounds good but how to make it happen?

First, that shift in perspective. Start looking at your employees in a new way. Not as people who need constant management and control but as members of a team who are ready, willing and able to do a good job. Look in the mirror and ask yourself if your need to be in control has more to do with your own insecurities than employee lack of skill or willingness to do a good job. Remember, coaches know that once the players are on the field it is their skill and determination that determine the outcome and your job is to stand on the sidelines as head of the support team.

Look at each individual, not just what you want to accomplish. Every employee has strengths and weaknesses. It is the coach's job to figure out how to capitalize on the strengths to the benefit of the organization and what training or development needs to happen to improve weaknesses. Coaches learn to look for natural talents and capitalize on them. Sometimes players get shifted around the field. At first glance your may see a poor performing employee but you may just have a terrific employee in the wrong position. A natural sales talent stuck behind a computer alone all day is not a winning strategy for the employee or the business.
Coaches know when and how to cut someone from the team. If the positions you have available just are not a good match for the individual and keeping them on the playing field is just too costly then let them go. Just because someone isn't a star gymnast doesn't mean they might not be a star tennis player. Give them the opportunity to move forward and shine in a different place. Be sure you do everything possible to maintain their dignity in the process.

People make mistakes. Good coaches recognize a failure can be the best possible teaching experience. People given the opportunity to make mistakes without fear of being berated or belittled are more likely to push themselves to grow and take on new challenges. Coaching means helping employees figure out how to fix things that go wrong so they can prevent making the same error again.

Give them the ball and make them run with it. Coaches know they cannot fix everything and cannot provide all the solutions. Watching someone struggle to master throwing the perfect pass takes lots of patience but if you grab the ball away each time a player falters then they will never develop the skill or confidence do themselves. If you create a work environment where you never let employees run with the ball then you will find yourself overwhelmed by the demands on your time by the very people you hired to relieve your workload. If there is constantly a line-up of employees outside your office door who are afraid to act without your direct input then it is time to look at the direct or indirect messages you are sending to your team. Stop making all the decisions and rushing to provide solutions to every problem for them. If you hired good people chances are you are surrounded by good ideas just waiting to be heard.

Which leads to yet another under appreciated coaching skill, listening. Coaches who listen to their players on small issues are less likely to find themselves with major issues that interfere with the goals of the team. Coaches know they need to listen to good and bad news and that shooting the messenger will guarantee no one wants to tell them the truth. Always remember your team is on the playing field where the action is. Your skilled and experienced players are looking at the game from the playing field perspective and just may have ideas and solutions you never thought of.

Make your feedback constructive. Coaches don't just scream at their players that they are doing everything wrong and then walk off the field. At least not if their intent is to win the game. Be specific, offer suggestions and guidance and then give your players the opportunity to practice. What if the tennis coach said to a player that they swing the racket all wrong and then walked away? Nothing would be accomplished because without any feedback about what needs to change to improve the player's swing and no opportunity to practice new techniques nothing changes. The result? Two frustrated people and no progress toward achieving the mutually desired result, winning.

If you have never considered a coaching leadership approach in place of your current management style you may want to give it some thought. Making a commitment to coaching can shift the tone of the organization. Think back to any experiences in your life when you were coached and then contrast that to times when you were being managed or bossed. Which was most successful? If you have the opportunity to observe a good coach in action consider how those same techniques may improve your organization. Of course, growing up as the daughter of a coach it made me a believer that good coaching skills build more effective teams, sports or business. Thanks Dad!

Complying with the American Disabilities Act When Hiring - Part I

2008-05-12T13:27:00.000-07:00

Job Applications
The American Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits various types of questions of job applicants. Any inquiries on job applications or in interviews regarding an applicant's health or disabilities are illegal under the ADA, as well as other laws.

Prior to recruiting, the employer needs to determine the Essential Job Functions (EJF). When determining the EJFs you must ask yourself if each of the facets of the position are fundamental or integral to the job, MUST be done on a regular basis or on a rare occasion, or can this function be moved to another position without having a critical impact on this job, and the degree of expertise or skill needed to perform the function.

Skills Testing
Pre-employment tests that measure such things as sensory, manual, or speaking skills are permitted under the ADA if the skill being tested is necessary to perform the EJF's, meaning that the test is job-related, and if the tests have been validated to ensure that they measure what they purport to measure. If you are using un-validated skills tests, you are opening yourself to liability for discrimination.

The results of such tests may not be used to screen-out individuals with disabilities. Pre-employment tests should be administered with reasonable accommodations for those applicants who request accommodation.

Interviewing Don'ts
The ADA prohibits pre-employment inquiries about disabilities, whether overt, hidden, or assumed

There are certain questions that are regarded as disability-related, and therefore illegal to ask in a job interview or solicit in background and reference checks:

About physical impairments like scars, burns, or missing limbs.
If he or she has a disability, for how long, the nature or severity of it, or how it occurred.
About mental or physical impairments unless the applicant has disclosed it and the discussion is limited to determining if the person can perform the EJF's, with or without reasonable accommodation.
If ever been injured on the job.
How many days sick last year.
Been addicted, in counseling or treated for drugs or alcohol abuse.
Been treated for any other disease, medical condition, or disability, or on any medications.
Been in counseling or received psychiatric care, history of filing workers' compensation claims.
Whether there is any health-related reason the applicant may not be able to perform the job.

DO NOT assume that an applicant cannot do the job because of an apparent disability.
The applicant may be able to perform the essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodation. See next month's Challenge or contact Bonnie Royster, SmartSource Hiring System Manager at Your People Professionals 805.928.5725 for Part II Interviewing Do’s to Comply with the ADA.

SMALL COMPANY HAS BIG IDEAS ON GIVING

2008-04-17T11:21:00.001-07:00

"We're not a big company but we want to make a big contribution to our community" says Naomi Neilson Howard, CEO of Native Trails, Inc. at the kickoff meeting of the company's new Community Trails program that pays employees who contribute time to qualified San Luis Obispo county charitable programs. Employees can take paid time off to volunteer up to 16 hours a year, in lieu of doing their usual job.

"Native Trails has always been about making a positive contribution to the lives of our employees," says Howard, who started her business on her kitchen table while attending Cal Poly and feels fortunate to be able to live and work on the Central Coast. "Now we want to make it easy for each of our employees to make a contribution to their community."

The workers responded very positively to the chance to get involved. "I've met many people that have needed help. I always had it in my mind that if one day I could do something, I would. Well now it's my chance to do so," commented one employee, after learning about the volunteer program.

While the charities in San Luis Obispo County get much-needed volunteers, Native Trails expects the program to help build teamwork and a sense of community among its 32 workers.

The program was introduced this week at an employee luncheon that featured speakers from five of the area's leading community organizations including the American Red Cross, Food Bank Coalition, Woods Humane Society, American Cancer Society, and Hospice of SLO County.

Lydia Hunt, of the local American Red Cross chapter hopes it will encourage other companies to get involved. "I think it's very important for people to volunteer. It helps them to better understand their community and the services that are available, if they ever need them. Most of the employers in this area are smaller companies, like Native Trails. I hope this inspires them to do something like this."

Naomi Neilson Howard hopes so too. She's volunteered to share her experience with other local companies about how to implement a similar program.

In addition to supporting volunteers, the company also helps raise money for local charity groups by matching up to $500 a year in employee charitable giving through a payroll deduction program. In addition, each employee who contributes 30 hours or more a year can earn an additional $200 donation from the company for their favorite charity.

Native Trails is a privately-owned company based in San Luis Obispo. The company produces artisan crafted copper bath and kitchen fixtures using environmentally responsible materials such as recycled copper and reclaimed wood. Its products are sold throughout the U.S. and in Canada. For more about Native Trails, Inc. visit www.nativetrails.net

Recession - Keeping Your Business & Your Employees Moving Forward

2008-04-16T13:14:00.000-07:00

When you can't get through the evening news without hearing another commentator asking another expert if we are in a recession you can assume we are heading into, in the midst of, or on the way out of the dreaded abyss.

So what does it all mean for your business and your employees? Whether it is ultimately called a recession or something else, there are too many associated variables for anyone, expert or otherwise, to predict with certainty what will happen to you, your company and your employees. Take a deep breath, make a realistic assessment of your specific situation, develop a plan and keep moving. Fear and inertia are your worst enemies in challenging times. You don't control the nations' economy so leave the hand wringing to your competitors and focus on making the choices and changes necessary to ensure your company doesn't become a statistic.

This is the time to get an overall picture of your business and your industry. Know the current cash position of your business, sales trends in recent months as compared to prior years and the status of your economic universe, whether it is local, national or international. Getting a current picture is not the same thing as getting caught up in the paralysis of analysis. If you see red flags try to pinpoint the cause. Just because the buzz on the street is recession doesn't mean you should make excuses for a weak sales team or ignore an outdated marketing strategy.

Try to avoid the coffee shop blues. You know, where you sit around with your colleagues and complain about how bad things are out there. True or not, that time can be better spent on activities that support your business. Make a sales call, finish a proposal or visit a client.

Look for the opportunities because even in the worst of times there are success stories. The foreclosure market has spawned new marketing opportunities for those who took immediate action when they recognized the boom market was taking a turn in the other direction. A recent news story showed one entrepreneurial real estate agent who takes real estate investors on tours of foreclosures in a tour bus.

Negotiate everything. If you are in the market to buy a product or service this may be the best time to make your available resources go a little farther.

Evaluate your pricing strategy and your target market. Recessions don't last forever but if you make poor cost cutting or pricing decisions under pressure you may find yourself facing unintended consequences long after the economy picks up again. As things shift in the economy plan to make adjustments but maintain a long-term perspective too.

Keep marketing at the forefront. Business graveyards are littered with companies that took a short sighted view and pulled back on marketing to save money only to become a distant memory in the minds and wallets of their customer base. Rethink your marketing strategy, find ways to make every marketing dollar do more, but never abandon marketing in hopes that you will get back to it when things improve.

Spend your time on what matters most and what makes your business tick. This isn’t the time to start doing the filing yourself to save money if your strength lies in making sales. You will be costing yourself far more than you will save.

Employees are also a critical consideration when the economy is shaky. If business is affected then the economy is hitting individuals hard too. Just when you need your team at peak efficiency you may find yourself addressing issues with distracted or distraught employees. There are a number of proactive things you can do that may minimize the impact and keep things on target.

If your business is under financial stress be sure to keep your employees in the loop. Nothing will start people heading for the door faster than a sense of secrecy and fear. You may think you are hiding it well but employees know when things are off kilter. If the situation is challenging then engage your leadership team and other employees in the process. You might be amazed at the ideas that emerge when employees know you view them as keys to the success of the business. Make sure employees know the leadership team is looking forward and solutions oriented.

Be sensitive to employee financial challenges. Take a look at creative ways to provide support. Maybe you can offer an employee who has a long commute the option of telecommuting for one or more days a week. Be aware that younger employees have probably never experienced a real economic downturn before and may be anxious about the unknown.

If you have decided it is strategically necessary to downsize then take steps to streamline your operation. Fewer employees mean more opportunity for burnout among those who remain. Sometimes organizations cling to antiquated processes out of habit or simple inertia. Fewer people available to carry the load can create the opportunity to introduce more efficient methods. That can mean a leaner and more responsive organization.

Downsizing can also create an opportunity for businesses in need of additional talent. When other companies are forced to layoff talent you may find yourself in a position to reap the benefit.

Prepare your managers to expect employee stress to spill into the workplace. Be sure they understand the difference between being supportive and being overly involved. Offer them training on coaching employees who are facing stress.

If you know one of your team is facing a critical financial situation and you have an Employee Assistance Program be sure to steer the employee there for professional assistance. It can help take the pressure off of both of you to put some of the stress in professional hands.

Keep customer service a core value. When marketing dollars get tight your best source of referrals should be the happy customers you already have. Keep in touch and let them know you appreciate their loyalty.

Stay in touch with the business community. If you belong to business organizations stay active. It may be tempting to pull back when you are dealing with the challenges of a changing business climate but community and business associations can be an excellent source of support and referrals.

Finally, take the difficulties you encounter in an economic downturn as long-term lessons. It can be an opportunity to build your confidence in your ability to lead your company when you have successfully navigated through rough waters. A recession can be a great lesson in adapting to unexpected challenges and doing more than you thought possible with fewer resources than you thought you had to have. Who knows, looking back on it someday you may see it as the secret to your success.

Personality Alignment 101

2008-04-02T14:31:00.000-07:00

Workplace Personality Management Skills

One of the greatest challenges in management is how to get maximum production from the different personality types within the workforce. A manager needs to bring harmony to the chaos and what works with one personality type may totally alienate another. This article explores the latest tools available to help the manager understand their own style and the other personality styles within their team. These tools help the manager understand how to interact with the other personality types to create better business results. This creates a work place that is a more enjoyable for both the Manager and the Employee.

Have you ever had an employee who just didn't seem to click with you? Or perhaps you've been the employee, frustrated with your own supervisor's management style. It can be difficult to know how to overcome this barrier effectively.

In my role as a coach to managers and supervisors, I've noticed a basic assumption that most of them have, which is: "I should know how to do this." If you take a moment to examine this expectation, that two strangers brought together because of shared professional ability should immediately click and work well with each other, it's clear that it just isn't realistic.

Starting from the beginning then, how do you build an effective working relationship with the people you supervise? And does it really matter?

The quality of the relationship between Manager (executive, director, supervisor, team leader) and employee significantly impacts employee performance. Managers and employees who understand each other's style are highly productive and engaged. However, Managers who are "out of sync" with their employees often cause low productivity, dwindling morale and high excessive employee turnover.

*A significant factor that drives employee engagement and productivity is their relationship with their boss.

* Research consistently shows the primary reason employees leave a company is because of conflict with their Manager.

The more a Manager understands an employee, the more effective they can be. There are many ways to build a foundation of understanding. The first key is to understand yourself. Take a few minutes to make an honest assessment of your management style.

How do you communicate with those you supervise? Do you prefer email, phone, in-person? Do you like small talk and pleasantries, or do you get right to business?

What is your style of feedback delivery? Do you give ongoing feedback? Do you wait until something very positive or negative has happened to warrant an actual meeting or memo?

What are your expectations for updates on work duties? Do you expect regular status reports, or do you expect the employee to just get the job done when you assign them a task?

How do you respond to questions from employees? Do you like people to approach you as questions come up, or do constant interruptions just irritate you? Do you prefer to have questions emailed to you in one batch?

There are no right or wrong answers on these. The important thing is to understand your style, so you know your own strengths and weaknesses. From there, you can start to use these same questions to evaluate your employee's work style. These are just a few questions to get you started; there are many other things you can measure and assess in understanding your work and management style.

However, if you do have an HR Manager or other coach or mentor available, I highly recommend that after making your self-assessment, you then look at areas where you can refine your style to be more effective. Do you have an employee who loves to stop at your desk and chat about inane questions? If you prefer to be business-oriented and direct in your interaction, rather than just cutting the employee off, you may shift your style to meet in the middle. By asking a simple question, whether weather-related or weekend-plan related, and really listening for a minute or two while they answer, you can establish a relationship with that employee that's going to help them feel more appreciated and engaged.

Another valuable tool that YPP uses with its own corporate employees and with many of our clients is an assessment designed to measure this very issue. At YPP, we use the Profiles WorkForce CompatibilityTM, which is a valuable management tool that combines insight into the unique working characteristics that can impact the employee/manager relationship, along with actionable information on how the employee and Manager can best work together. Click here for more information about this assessment tool.

Every employee/manager relationship is unique and requires a different management strategy to achieve best results. For example, the relationship and management strategies between a highly decisive boss and a highly decisive employee will be significantly different than the relationship the boss has with a less decisive employee. The decisive employee thrives on quick decisions, while the other will be more methodical in their decision-making approach, potentially conflicting with the faster-paced Manager. A "one size fits all" management approach used for both employees will likely result in frustration for everyone.

There is no best-practices manual for understanding today's workforce, but understanding, knowing and tailoring corporate job offerings to a changing workforce puts an organization and its decision-makers in control in order to raise engagement levels.

Engaged employees are excited and enthusiastic about their jobs. They resist distractions, tend to forget about time and routinely produce significantly more than the job requires. They enjoy searching for ways to improve circumstances and volunteer for difficult assignments. They also encourage others to higher levels of performance. Finally, they are proud to be involved with their organization and are more likely to stay with the company. In the end, there are many benefits and advantages to understanding engagement levels. Companies with this knowledge have higher retention rates, superior customer service and realize enhanced bottom-line results.

By knowing your own style as a manager, knowing your employees' styles, and taking decisive action to bridge the two, you are actually contributing to the bottom line of your business. Whether accomplished by careful observation or assessment, the maxim "know thyself" is essential for every manager to follow.

Workforce Dynamics 3

2008-03-12T08:52:00.000-07:00

To date we have looked at four significant areas of Workforce Dynamics that will have a major impact on companies whose very survival depends on a stable and efficient workforce to achieve profitability. The first four areas we examined were workforce fluidity, Generation Y, employee perks and older workers. This month we will look at three key areas that have a great deal of overlap and interdependence; technology, globalization and skills gap.

Technology

No employer needs to be told that the emergence of technology is having an impact on the workplace. Although it would come as a total shock to your children it wasn't all that long ago that email and the internet did not exist. Today most businesses are dependent on that relatively new technology to perform the most basic tasks. Just look around any office when the computer systems are down to witness employees who can barely function without their computers for even a few minutes. This is an amazing impact for a technology that did not even exist when most of the workforce began their careers.

The implications of technology reach far beyond just email and the internet. The explosion of high tech is a double edged sword for employers and employees. For employees it increasingly means they can physically work anywhere and stay connected to the workplace. But this new freedom to roam changes all the rules of the traditional business office. Everything from how to measure productivity to labor law issues arise when employees no longer need to be physically present in an office to accomplish work tasks. As new workers enter the workplace the old rules requiring 8 to 5 office face time will no longer make sense to a generation that cannot remember not being able to communicate instantly with the entire world. Just watch the ease with which teenagers send text messages and you will see how rapidly new technology becomes integrated into our most basic daily activities.

The speed with which information flows can also be overwhelming to employees. Inbox fatigue can quickly set in when communication is instantaneous. Employers and clients may develop unrealistic expectations of how much work a single individual can accomplish in a reasonable work day. Quality may be sacrificed for quantity resulting in employee burnout, stress related illness and high turnover. As new technologies emerge companies must not only pay for the hardware and software to keep pace, they must also constantly train and retrain workers to keep up.

Employers trying to stay competitive with a lean workforce utilizing high tech solutions can find themselves coping with employees who feel isolated, alienated and overwhelmed by the very technology that was expected to solve problems not create new ones.

People and technology will need to be integrated in ways that offer employees the tools to make work more productive while maintaining a healthy work and life balance. Emerging software technologies will bring ever more sophisticated web based intranet and project management applications to the market. These new applications will enable employees to bring the scattered pieces of clients, projects and resources together for faster and more effective collaboration. The ability to manage email, fax, phone and mobile messaging with one integrated message system will soon be the norm. Recent developments such as the popular IPHONE show the market already exists for the next generation of communication devices.

Globalization

Technology has made dramatic changes in the workplace and more than ever before that workplace is global. Technology has not only given us the tools we need to communicate locally. We can now find anything we want anywhere in the world with the click of a few keystrokes. This means not only new market opportunities for many businesses but also the need to think and act with a global view. It may seem challenging to manage your own office team working collaboratively on a project. That challenge is exponentially multiplied if the team is scattered throughout the world. Factor in different time zones, different cultures, different languages and different laws and regulatory environments and you have a completely new respect for multi-national corporations. The Society for Human Resource Management, The 2007-2008 Workplace Trends List states it this way,

"Domestic is global and global is domestic."

The global business model will increasingly impact every employee and business, even those who only see themselves as local. Outsourcing and off shoring have become household words and the shrinking world isn't going to return to pre-technology business norms.

Skills Gap

Business will need a leadership seat at the education table to help plan and implement the training students will need to enter the workforce prepared to face the challenges of a different workplace than their grandparents or parents could foresee. Even jobs that were traditionally low tech have been touched by the technology revolution. Just ask a cross country truck driver about the high tech communications and navigation systems they employ to stay competitive.

A Princeton Brookings journal article on Economic and Labor Market Trends points to an ever increasing demand for high-skilled workers but points out that even traditionally lower skilled positions will require a higher level of technical skill than in previous generations. The US Department of Labor publication "America's dynamic workforce: 2007" has this to say, "Today, and increasingly in the future, a solid education foundation, including completion of post-secondary courses or degrees is needed to compete successfully in the job market."

Another real social impact will be the increasing gap between the wages of the shrinking pool of educated and highly skilled workers as compared to those who lack skills and education. According to the US Census Bureau, one of the largest and fastest-growing groups of young people in the United States are dropouts, rising to almost one out of three Americans in their mid 20's. This trend must be reversed because it cannot deliver the trained and motivated workforce necessary to compete in the global marketplace.

YPP will bring business owners and executives together on May 9 to further explore and discuss the changing dynamics of today's workforce and ways that businesses can adapt to maintain competitiveness.

Online Reputation Management, a Cautionary Tale

2008-03-11T13:49:00.000-07:00

Business owners are very careful about managing their reputation but for some reason they have not come to realize the risks involved in the Internet or more specifically what is called social media.

I would like to tell you the story of Kevin, and trust me there is a business story here, but let's watch the train wreck first.

Meet Kevin
This is a true story and an absolute Reputation Management Disaster. Kevin, who happens to be pictured here in a dress, carrying a wand and a fine malt beverage, lost his job and embarrassed his employer with a quick post intended for his friends and peers. Kevin was an intern at a large New York bank. He sent his boss an e-mail letting him know that he had a family emergency and would be out for a day or two. In reality Kevin blew off work to go to a Halloween party back home and take some unfortunate pictures. Wanting to share the excitement of his Halloween costume with his friends he posted the picture to the left on his Facebook Page. By the time Kevin got back to work the picture he posted had already made it to his boss' inbox. Kevin, as you would expect, got fired.

But our story doesn't end with the indignity of getting fired. Kevin's boss forwarded the e-mail exchange to a few people with the attached picture. It ended up making Kevin an overnight Internet sensation. Social bookmarking sites like Digg.com and Reddit.com picked up the story and it became a viral hit with hundreds of thousands of readers enjoying his pain.

Kevin went from being a guy with a bright future and a good internship to being famous for dressing like a fairy godmother, lying to his employer, and getting fired. Not exactly the legacy one would necessarily desire. Not to mention at this moment every Google search for his name is dominated by this story, and he even made the front page for his employer's name!

Anybody nervous yet? Is your mind racing wondering what your employees have ever done online? Or how that might play in front of the next big client proposal? Need to do a Google Search? It's cool I'll wait...

Now for the business angle... How would you like to be the business behind Kevin's story? Oh sure you would get lots of hits on your web site, but those would also be hits to your reputation. Managing your reputation online is serious business. Many prospects will do a search on your business name before they ever contact you and is a drunk kid with a wand the image you want to share with the world? Here are a just a few of the issues to discuss at your next management team meeting.

Do you understand what social media is?
What is your policy regarding posts in social media?
Have you trained all employees on this policy?
What if you hire the next Kevin and the story gets away from you?
Should you proactively manage your brand in social media?
What is the policy of employees using the business name/brands?
How should your business be represented in social media?
Are you leveraging social media or just watching the world go by?

In closing we recommend that you proactively manage your reputation or it will manage you. Things happen fast on the Internet and you need to stay ahead of the curve or you could be the next train wreck.

Rob Dumouchel
Systems & Marketing Solutions

About the Author: Rob Dumouchel specializes in online advertising and promotion with a focus on new media. Rob manages 50+ web sites for 30 clients generating over 5,000 sales leads or orders each month through Google Adwords.

Other references:

Rob's Internet Marketing Blog
www.myspace.com/adwords_expert
www.linkedin.com/in/robdumouchel

Cell Phones: More phones, more problems

2008-02-26T12:40:00.000-08:00

Last month we brought you guidance from Eric Schweffler of BLH&K on emerging issues with cell phones and the tax arena. Gauging from the response, it seems that cell phones are an area of increasing concern for employers.

Cell phones and PDA's, not to mention beepers and iPods, have brought a whole new bundle of issues to the doorsteps of employers. Some of these issues include overtime pay, horribly annoying rings, driving safety, employees taking personal calls at work, loss of confidential information (due to cell phone cameras,) and inappropriate material in the workplace (if you think there's any shortage of obscene or offensive cell phone screen backgrounds or ring tones, think again.)

Each of these issues is potentially a major problem, but my goal in this article is to hit a few high points for employers contending with a wireless workforce. Cell phones are actually at the intersection of a number of different policies, from harassment to confidentiality, so I'll highlight a few of those below.

We've all heard the ringtones in the office, from the country-western ballads to the heavy-metal version of Swan Lake (really.) Any good cell phone policy should include requirements of quiet, unobtrusive ringtones, if they are allowed at all. Because of the increasingly frequent disruptions, some companies require that all cell phones be turned to silent or vibrate during the workday, while others require that personal cell phones simply remain off except for breaks and meal periods.

One primary consideration in creating your cell phone policy is safety. Statistics have consistently shown that people using cell phones perform tasks less safely, whether it's driving or operating equipment. Many companies that require use of moving equipment, including construction, manufacturing, and others, have instituted policies requiring that personal cell phones remain in cars or lockers during work hours. Other companies limit use of cell phones while driving, and require people to pull over to make calls, or at least use hands-free devices.

As a reminder to everyone, hands-free devices are required by law for everyone using cell phones while driving as of 7/1/08, so all cell phone policies will need to include this at that time.

For companies with sensitive, confidential information, such as customer data, product designs, business plans, or anything else, it's wise to include cell phones and other electronic cameras or video or sound recorders in your confidentiality policy. This type of technology presents a serious potential for information loss by employers, so it's important to make sure that your policies are crafted to address this.

Aside from outgoing information, another primary concern with this technology is incoming material. Aside from ringtones, most cell phones now have customizable backgrounds and can store photos or videos. As one manager learned when opening an employee's cell phone to admire it, even cell phone screen savers have the potential to violate harassment policies. (This particular manager wasn't easily shocked, but said that in this case, she was shocked. The employee was told to ensure that anything she brings into the workplace is in alignment with the harassment policy, so the explicit video needed to be removed from her cell phone, since she had that out in her workspace.)

Harassment policies should make sure to address personal items in the workplace, such as cell phones, PDA's, iPods, screen savers, incoming emails, and personal laptops used in the workplace.

Another rapidly growing area of concern for employers is text messaging. How many times have you walked over to an employee's desk to find them silently texting away while you thought they were working? Some employers are more relaxed than others about this type of activity, but employers should recognize its potential (along with internet surfing) to be a time and productivity drain on employees. And because it's silent, you may not even know it's occurring. A well-drafted and even better-communicated policy is essential to make sure your employees aren't using your work time to text.

The last cell phone issue we'll look at in this article is the issue of overtime. For your exempt managers and executives, answering phone calls and emails from home is no issue, since they are expected to work the job, rather than the hours. For the non-exempt employee, though, who is checking their work email at home or answering or making cell phones calls outside of their normal work hours, overtime issues do arise. Since they are conducting business, you are required to pay those hours worked. However, if you have an employee working unauthorized overtime, you can approach that problem from a disciplinary standpoint.

Employers should make sure, though, that any hours worked (including on the phone from home or checking email remotely) are reflected on the timecards of non-exempt employees, even if the employee says they're happy to take a few calls at home. If it were ever to come in from of the Department of Labor Standards Enforcement, if the employer has no records, the employee's word on what they worked is often taken.

A well crafted, customized cell phone policy is now an essential in most businesses to address the growing issue of cell phones. Make sure it includes elements of when the phone can be on, can be answered, what the guidelines are for personal calls in general at work, appropriate material (including ringtones) on personal cell phones and PDA's, confidentiality of work material, safety, and any other areas that need to be addressed to protect your business.

FMLA: New Categories; More Time Off Work; More to Comply With

2008-02-06T16:35:00.000-08:00

On 1/28/08, the President signed a new law that expands the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), providing leave rights for military families that is causing a new look at companies' FMLA policies. The law went into effect as of that date, so it's a mad scramble now as employers struggle to understand the policies they must now comply with.

As these new laws are not backed up by detailed regulation yet, the advice of a qualified HR or legal professional is essential ensuring compliance with the complex requirements of leave administration.

First, some employers are confused about the intersection of USERRA with these new FMLA leaves. USERRA is for actual deployed military members. The new FMLA leaves are for the people who stay back home, such as family members.

There are two new types of leave under the FMLA: "Qualifying Exigencies" and "Service member Family Leave." An employer is still required to cover health insurance, follow the notification requirements, and all the other current FMLA rules. The best way for an employer to think about this is that these are two new categories of leave under the current FMLA; in other words, these are amendments, not entirely new types of leave.

"Qualifying Exigency Leave" is for an employee whose spouse, son, daughter, or parent is on active duty or is called for active duty in support of a contingency operation. The Department of Labor has not issued regulations on the exact definition of "qualified exigency" leave yet, so until then the DOL is encouraging employers to provide this type of leave to employees even though they won’t be enforcing it until the regulations are promulgated. Probable examples of this type of leave would be a spouse taking leave to arrange for child care, to see a child off or welcome a child home, to attend pre-deployment briefings, to attend family support meetings, or to attend reintegration briefings. This is clearly intended to be a broad category of leave, so it's essential employers act in good faith and stay on top of the regulations as they are issued. In the meantime, make every attempt to accommodate this type of leave if it does arise before official guidance from the DOL is issued.

It's important to note that the definition of "son" or "daughter" in Qualifying Exigency leave conflicts with the existing definition of those terms in the current FMLA regulations. It's anticipated that the DOL regulations will address this discrepancy and provide guidance. The definition of parent is a biological parent or one who stood in-loco-parentis for the employee.

Active duty covers a broad array of potential military assignments during a war or national emergency, and this definition is governed by US code 101(a)(13)(B) of Title X. It covers assignments besides those which involve direct combat.

Qualifying Exigency leave is 12 weeks during a 12-month period, and is calculated the same way that any other FMLA leave is calculated by the employer: using the calendar year, roll-forward, or roll-back methods. Qualifying Exigency leave is integrated with all other FMLA reasons, so if an employee has taken 8 weeks of leave for a personal medical issue, and then requests Qualifying Exigency leave under the FMLA, they would have 4 weeks available.

Next of kin means the nearest blood relative of the Servicemember. This is likely to affect employees who are outside the traditional FMLA categories, such as brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. Keep in mind that someone who qualifies under "in-loco-parentis" might qualify that employee under the "parent" category rather than "next-of-kin." The DOL may issue some further guidance on next-of-kin, as there is nothing in the regulations making a determination of that term. For instance, what if there are two brothers of a servicemember?

One way for employers to prevent potential abuse of the next-of-kin provision is to ask what brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, grandparents are service personnel in advance of any requested leave, or to list servicemembers they are potentially next-of-kin of.

The definition of "serious injury or illness" is different under Servicemember leave than under the other types of FMLA, as it requires that the injury or illness must have occurred in the line of active duty.

Employers should remember that providing "psychological comfort" also qualifies as a reason for leave under FMLA, including Servicemember leave. For this type of leave, an employer can ask the employee to specify the type of care they will be providing for the injured Servicemember.

For intermittent leave, it's very important to get certification of the nature and schedule of the care to be provided, as the regulations seem to indicate that employees can take Servicemember leave on an intermittent basis as well.

Employers should immediately amend or supplement their FMLA policies. An employer is still required to give employees general notice of their rights under FMLA, so employers can post an updated policy on the employee bulletin board while we're waiting for official postings from the DOL. Handbooks should also reflect the revised policy.

Employers also need to determine if they will comply with the general provisions of the Qualified Exigency leave while the specific regulations are pending. Supervisors and managers will need to be trained on these new requirements, and employers will need to update their forms to reflect the new leaves, such as revising the questionnaire regarding covered family relations.

Until the regulations are finalized for the Qualifying Exigency leave, some very broad situations may fall under that type of leave, such as staying home to care for children after a spouse has been deployed.

Because of the new length of these leaves, it's possible that employers will face long-term employee absences, so cross-training employees in anticipation of such circumstances may benefit employers. There is no hardship or unreasonable provision of the FMLA that would allow a covered employee to deny the leave to a covered employee.

People on Servicemember leave in California may qualify for the Paid Family Leave program, which provides up to 6 weeks of salary replacement. But because few people can afford to take 20 weeks of unpaid leave, employers may want to consider adding a leave donation program as a way to support the family members of injured Servicemembers. Such programs can demonstrate the company’s solid support of our Servicemembers, and build morale and team identify by setting up a structure for employees to help each other.

Another wrinkle for California employers is the recent passage of a bill establishing leave rights for Military Spouses. This new leave will need to be integrated with CFRA and FMLA as well as PFL. So far 2008 has dramatically increased the complexity of leaves that California employers must contend with, and the advice of a qualified HR or legal professional is highly recommended in dealing with these complex situations.